A Memory
by FanGirlRoyLover
Summary: [GaaraOC] Night settles and brings in the lonely cold as well as the music of rain, which brings comfort. Gaara reminiscence about a long, forgotten memory. [NOT FANGIRLED STORY]
1. Chapter 1: Rippling

**A Memory (rated PG13) – By RoyLover (Gaara + OC) Third person POV**

_**Disclaimer: Characters belong to Naruto except anything related to Amaya!**_

**Author's note: Yes, Amaya isn't me…She is merely a character.**

_**-Chapter 1: Rippling-**_

The sunlight reflected against a little boy sitting upon the soft, neglected sand. It was sunset, dim but hot. Warm southern winds blew against the boy's red, short hair, revealing more of the red kanji marked on his left side of his forehead. But then as the winds grew stronger, along came the spits of sands that harshly beat up against his face, leading him to close his faded green eyes tightly as his thin arms rise to shield his face. Footsteps were heard behind him, but he dare not open his eyes as he continued to feel the specks of sand hit violently against his face.

"Oi, Gaara, come on inside before the wind takes you along with the sand!" a strong female voice shouted.

Only nodding, Gaara slowly rose to stand on his feet, his arms still covering his face from the sand.

"Hurry up!" the voice shouted again, but then said in a nicer tone, "Kankurou is waiting inside for us."

Gaara spoke quietly, "Coming, Temari."

Right when Gaara entered the shelter with Temari at his side, he immediately found a place to sit. After resting his back against the cool stone walls, he lowered himself to sit on the hard ground. His legs bent in front of him and his arms lied upon them. Inside was a lot calmer and cooler than outside. To Gaara, it was nice and cozy, but maybe that was also because it was dark as well. But there was this utter silence that bothered him for some reason. Of course, Temari had left the room to another room within the shelter, and probably left to go and fetch Kankurou somewhere. That left him alone and is probably why the silence bothered him so.

After a long while of waiting, Gaara gave up the bothersome silence and faced to gaze out the window. Unexpectedly, he spotted a huge, dark cloud in the sky that was hovering toward his direction. Such a thing was unusual to see around here, but he guessed this was going to be one of those few rain storms that didn't come by often. In an instant, the room became much cooler, colder. Gaara shivered a bit, but he tried not to let the cold get to him. Closing his eyes, he listened to the music the rain made as the dark cloud floated above and by. It was comforting because, now, the silence was broken, and he didn't felt so alone anymore.

Yet, for some odd reason, Gaara suddenly whispered, "Amaya."

His eyes shot open as he looked into the darkness, his mind trying to hold on to a passing memory that was about to escape. Without much trouble, he was able to remember the memory. Amaya was a girl he knew when he was much younger…It was no wonder why he remembered her at a time like this. The girl's name…Amaya…It meant night rain.

**_-End of chapter-_**


	2. Chapter 2: Night Rain

**A Memory (rated PG13) – By RoyLover (Gaara + OC) Third person POV**

_**Disclaimer: Characters belong to Naruto except anything related to Amaya!**_

**Author's note: I do hope you enjoy Amaya as a character. She's no Mary-Sue.**

_**-Chapter 2: Night Rain-**_

Loud, childish shrills of laughter echoed in a small, dessert valley. The sun was up high, the sky beautifully blue with its translucent clouds painted upon it.

"Over here! Throw it over here! Come on!" the oldest child shouted out to her partner.

"Alright!" called out her partner who held the red, leathered ball.

The boy readied himself in a pitcher's pose and threw it toward her. Quickly, the ball skidded across the field and the girl seized it into her hands. Quickly running after the runner of third base, she dashed right at him. In succession, he was tagged and out.

From afar, little Gaara stood watching the ball game, a shy smile on his face. He wanted to play so badly, but every time he came close to the kids, they would run away. This time he decided to watch from afar and enjoy childhood that way. It was the best he could do to be able to be around the kids he wanted to be with so much.

Shrills of children continued to rage through the valley, but it all ceased when the leathered ball had rolled and bumped into Gaara's left foot. All of the children who were playing with the ball stood there in horror as Gaara bent down, picked it up, and stood straight up, holding the ball out toward them with his best smile on.

"H-here…" Gaara was able to squeak out.

He continued to stand there, holding the ball toward them, but none of the children moved nor said a thing. They just stared at him with terror in their eyes. Then, with much guts, the oldest child who was in charge of the game came up to Gaara and roughly snatched the ball off of his hands. She turned around and ran instantly back to where she was standing.

"Hey, let's play elsewhere! Can't play good knowing this monster's watching us," she yelled out, the ball now between her right arm and hip.

All of the kids yelled out in agreement and all ran away with all their might from Gaara once again, leaving him there standing alone.

Even when all the kids were out of sight, Gaara was still standing there with that same smile he had. The winds have gotten a lot cooler now and the sun was almost setting. The sky was a fascinating orange mix of red, but the clouds had lost its whiteness and were now dark and grey.

"See you all later," he was finally able to say, but all he got as a reply was the whispers of the winds.

Suddenly, his legs weakened and he fell onto his knees, palms flat against the hardened ground of the dessert valley. His eyes were shut tight, but twitched slightly as small specks of tears dripped off and wetted the ground. He sniffed every so often trying to hold them back, but it did nothing to help stop the droplets. Every time he tried harder, more tears would fall onto the cold earth. Just then, there was a noise of scrapping shoes against the dusty dirt. The noise became louder and louder behind him. Scared, he dared not to move, but then the noise went beside him and stopped in front of him. Small, soft breaths could be heard, but it didn't sound panicked but calm. His small emerald eyes revealed itself, wet from tears, gazing toward the ground where he saw specs of places where his tears had fallen.

"It's okay. Amaya's here now," a soft, high pitched voice said.

Gaara eventually felt a hand gently patting the back of his head, giving him the curiosity to find out who it was. Slowly, he tilted his head upward, emerald eyes meeting brunette. It was such a sudden sight that he ended up trying to get up, but failed and fell on his butt.

"Oh, there's no need to be afraid," the girl said, smiling childishly.

A blush came upon Gaara's face as he looked at the young girl before him. After all, he'd never been in much contact with anyone before, besides Yashamaru. He'd also never seen her before in his life, so he concluded she was someone new in the village. Observing her, he'd noticed her ginger hair that went down slightly below her shoulders. Barely able to be seen behind her hair was a band-aid on the very left side of her face. She wore a small, thin tan jacket over an old, grass grey dress that went just a bit above her ankles and on her small feet was a pair of beaten black sandals.

"W-who are you?" Gaara was finally able to ask, still blushing from his shyness.

She giggled childishly, replying, "I'm Amaya, silly. And what's yer name?"

Tilting his head away to the left shyly, he answered quietly, "Gaara…"

"Well, nice to meet 'cha, Gaara! Let's go play!" she yelped joyfully, stretching her hand toward him.

At first, he just stared at it, doubting at what was happening to him. With much effort, though, he raised his shaky hand and gripped the smaller hand softly. Suddenly, the girl grinned happily and gripped his hand tightly, dragging him right behind her as she ran to where she wanted them both to be.

By the time both of them knew it, the sky had darkened with black clouds hovering above the village. However, the air had also become quite chilly. The candles lighting rooms inside homes of others let out a mysterious glows from the windows of the poor houses. Once in a while, a dark figure would walk across beyond the windows. Even so, the two continued to play their games, chasing one another.

"You're going too fast," Gaara quietly complained cutely.

Dashing away from him and then getting back on her feet, she yelled back, "Common! I know you can do better 'n that, Gaara!"

Right when Gaara barely touched her shoulder, rain beat loudly against the ground and soon everywhere else within seconds. It was pouring so hard, Gaara could feel the icy droplets of water cut against his cheeks.

"Huh? It's…It's rain'n," Amaya suddenly commented, her eyes widen from the surprise gift from nature.

Suddenly, Gaara felt his heart fall. He sighed quietly and sadly, looking down toward his dirty feet and sandals. It was like this was going to be the departure of his newly-met friend, and they haven't even played for at least an hour.

"Well, who cares!" Gaara heard the girl suddenly yelled out, which led him to jolt his head right at her.

Amaya playfully twirled around in circles, the rain beating against her. Even when her clothes were soaking wet, she was laughing loudly with a huge smile upon her face. "Just cause it's rain'n doesn't mean anything, you know?" she told Gaara.

At first, Gaara thought she was a bit of a psycho, but then he didn't really care. After all, that was his first friend…The first person besides Yashamaru to actually really accept him for being, well, him. She was the first to actually judge him for him and not for the demon inside of him. Happily, Gaara finally rose up his voice, "You still haven't caught me yet, Amaya! I know you can do better than that!"

**_-End of chapter-_**


	3. Chapter 3: Mishap

**A Memory (rated PG13) – By RoyLover (Gaara + OC) Third person POV**

_**Disclaimer: Characters belong to Naruto except anything related to Amaya!**_

**Author's note: Finally, I've fixed my grammar errors and updated. I hope to update soon.**

_**Chapter 3: Mishap**_

"Morn'n, Gaara!" the young girl called out to the window where the little red head had tiptoed to look out of.

"Amaya!" Gaara called back, a wide smile emerging from his lips.

"Come'n play! You know, by the dead tree!" Amaya yelled before she had run off along the distance of the roads.

A smile glued onto his face, and he quickly departed from the window. Moving about his small, short legs swiftly, he came down the stairs and was approached by his caretaker, Yashamaru.

"Was that your new friend, Gaara?" Yashamaru's soft voice hummed.

Gaara, too excited to say anything, nodded with delight and ran out of his home. Standing there alone, Yashamaru's smile disappeared from his face. Words silently slipped out from his lips.

"Gaara, you poor foolish boy..."

It was another blue sky without a cloud in the sky. The sun held high over the village of the sand, warming everything its rays touched. Far beyond the company of the village buildings was a lone, dead tree. Just below its leafless, dark branches was Amaya with her back against the wall. Her eyes traveled downward, looking toward the cracked, dry dirt as she waited for Gaara. Then, from the distance, she could hear the scraping sounds of running feet.

"Amaya!" Gaara called out to her as he hustled to get to her.

"Gaara! You finally here!" her voice rose with spirit.

Looking into her brunette eyes, Gaara could feel his heart beat faster. He wondered if where he was standing at the moment was even reality. The feeling of it all was really too immersing and fake, but he loved it. The pain within his chest was lifted, and being with Amaya…It was like a dream that finally came true.

"Gaara?" Amaya abruptly spoke.

Snapping out of his mind, Gaara saw a hand waving quickly side to side in front of his face. Just suddenly, the hands were hastily brought to Amaya's side.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Gaara spoke quietly.

"Aw, nah, it's okay. Amaya just worried something might of happen to Gaara," she explained playfully.

Her hands were now behind her as she stood up straight. The sun's reflection in her eyes was so bright, and the curve in her small lips shone a smile. Gaara couldn't help but to smile at his friend.

"Common, Gaara hero! Let's get adventuring!" She yelped with vigor.

"Ah!" was Gaara's childish reply.

Running with the sandy winds, the two imagined as if they were birds. The sky's heavenly ocean spread vastly across. The desert surroundings had cast a reddish gold hue, and the small Village of the Sand in the distance surely looked like it could be heaven. Even if Gaara and Amaya weren't with the other children, their distant calls were heard. To Gaara the moment felt magical, flying beside her.

Before he had known it, he was on the ground, looking up at the dead branches of the gigantic lonely tree. His muscles were tight on his legs, and it ached to breath, but he was happy. The smile he had on his face was something he just couldn't hide. Unexpectedly, a warm wet towel landed on his head. Removing it, he saw Amaya looking down at him.

"Hey, buddy. Sorry if Amaya was a bit late. Now the wet towel got all warm," the small girl apologized.

Gaara shook his head and sat up, the towel now sleeping on his lap. After some stretching, Amaya fell right beside Gaara, and she looked up at the branches.

"They are beautiful," she spoke in a hush.

"How so? The branches are dead," Gaara told her.

"Just cause it's old doesn't mean it's not beautiful. The branches, the color, and the bark on the tree tell a beautiful story, Gaara."

Confused, he stared at her with wide eyes.

"The tree's like a grandpa but older. You have to listen to its silent voice to hear its story. Just close yer eyes and lay by it. You eventually hear it."

Although Amaya's words seemed strange, Gaara did what she said. Lying on his sore back, he closed his eyes and relaxed.

"You'll hear it soon enough, Gaara," she told him.

Gaara waited and waited for the voice, but, in the end, he drifted into a strange darkness, but it wasn't a sleep. It was more like a trance he had every so often.

"Gaara!" he heard the small girl yelped.

Slowly, Gaara revealed his eyes, only to see her panicked face.

"What is it, Amaya?" he asked in a small voice.

"I don't know about you, but I fell asleep…And now, look!"

Looking up instinctively at the sky, he noticed the deep red and orange hues blended into the sky.

"Oh no! We got to get back or else we wouldn't know where we're going!" Gaara informed as he quickly rolled onto his feet.

Meanwhile as the two quickly sped back to the village, about three quarters of the way there, Gaara suddenly heard a voice call out within the darkness, "Monster!"

A sudden jolt vibrated through his spine at that disgusting word. Just then, a hard object swiftly passed his face and skidded loudly behind him.

"Go away!" he heard Amaya yelled. "Stop throwing rocks at Gaara!"

Gaara couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Why are you with that monster, you stupid girl! Don't you know he's dangerous!?!" one of the children shouted and chucked another rock at Gaara.

Frightened, Gaara turned away, his arms brought out in his defense. His eyes were tightly closed and teeth hard against the other. But the rock…he didn't feel it.

Footsteps quickly leaving into the distance, one child's voice yelled out, "Run away! The monster's attacking."

Opening his eyes, he saw a wall of sand before him. There was something strange because he saw bits of blood speckled on the wall. His emerald eyes timidly traveled to the top of the wall, and what he saw left him in streams of tears.

"A-AMAYA!" Gaara cried out desperately, trying to get on his feet.

At the top of the wall was the sand firmly grasping onto Amaya's right ankle and arm. Blood trickled from where the sand held her and also from her mouth.

"AMAYA!!!"

The sand released her and her limped body fell onto the soft sand below. The wall gradually descended into the ground and became sand once more. Gaara was speechless, and his heart froze.

"Amaya," he whimpered. "I'm so sorry, Amaya…" He laid his small head gently on her back, choking from the tears. "Amaya, I didn't mean…I'm sorry…"

"Gaara?" he heard a soft voice whispered.

"Amaya!?"

"It's okay. Amaya will be alright," she told him.

"Amaya…"

"Don't cry…okay? Amaya will be…Amaya will…"

The girl's voice faded, and all he could hear was the wind within the night. Biting hard, he pressed his face tightly against her back which was now dampened from his burden of tears.

"Amaya!" Gaara called out to her, clutching a handful of her dress.

Before he knew it, he could feel a presence behind him. Little by little, he inched his head to see who it could be behind him. It was none other than Yashamaru.

"Yashamaru," Gaara's voice barely whispered.

Bending beside Gaara, Yashamaru stretched his hand and placed it on the side of Amaya's neck. Not knowing what his caretaker was doing, Gaara closed his eyes tightly, afraid and helpless. His hands were brought up to his chest. Clenching hard and long against it, Gaara felt himself fall into the dark trance once again. There was nothing he could do. Amaya was like this because of him.

A sudden hand fell on Gaara's shoulders as Yashamaru's voice spoke in assurance, "She's alright, Gaara."

His eyes shot open, jolting his head directly at Yashamaru's smile.

"R-really? I-is it true? Amaya…Amaya's alive?" Gaara choked out.

Yashamaru nodded with the smile still on his lips. The deep hold on Gaara's heart had been released, and his shivering body had ceased its movements.

Now standing up, Yashamaru told Gaara, "Come on, Gaara. We have to take Amaya home so she can get fixed up."

Unable to speak, Gaara hastily wiped the tears from his face, nodding to Yashamaru, and took hold of Amaya. Of course, Yashamaru helped him carry his friend.

Arriving at the porch of her home, Yashamaru took Amaya from Gaara and carried her on his back. Looking at Gaara, he slightly swung his head in the direction of the door. Quickly acting, Gaara nervously knocked on the door gently. Before long, they both heard footsteps approaching louder toward them.

"Tell them what happened and that you're sorry, okay?" Yashamaru explained.

Still unable to speak, Gaara quickly nodded to Yashamaru. The door then opened, revealing a middle aged woman with hair and eyes like Amaya. It was her mother.

"A-Amaya!? What happened to her?" she suddenly questioned when she set her eyes upon her unconscious daughter.

"I-I…I didn't mean to, miss," Gaara barely let out.

Taking her daughter from Yashamaru, she looked at Yashamaru for an explanation since she couldn't hear Gaara's quiet voice.

"Ah, well…You see, Gaara didn't mean to injure your daughter, Ma'am," Yashamaru explained to her.

"This little boy? This little boy's the monster everyone's been telling me about?" she asked, and it seemed her heart had flipped from the look on her face.

An imaginary knife stabbed deep into Gaara's heart, and so Gaara lifted his left hand and clenched hard against his chest. A tear merely dripped from his reddened right eye. Monster…Why must everyone call him that?

However, building enough courage, he spoke louder, "I'm…I'm sorry, miss. I was afraid because children were-."

But, interrupting him, the woman scolded, "Don't come near my daughter anymore, you monster! I won't let you take away my only child!"

The door was shut with force right in front of him. The impression only left Gaara to cry more than he already was. A frown shown on Yashamaru's lips and he took hold of Gaara's hand.

"Come on, Gaara. Let's go home," he told him.

There was no response from Gaara. The poor child just continued to sob to himself. With a sigh, Yashamaru slightly yanked on Gaara's arm, and he could already feel the boy moving along with him. The night was a clear, dark sky with the crescent moon showing itself without stars. Glowing windows from the houses eventually turned off their lights, leaving the two only to walk within the moonlight.

**_-End of chapter-_**


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